Tainted Sacrifice
by k8lynwelling
Summary: Kait is a Viu, an immortal vampire who doesn't kill people for blood. Her Welling bloodline is constantly being picked off by Strigoi, the evil, undead vampires. This is her story
1. Chapter 1

I arrived for my first day on the job. I was a co-assistant manager and park ranger at my favorite state park growing up. East Harbor State Park it was called. Yeah, I was nervous. I hadn't been to the place in years, but it looked the same as it had in all years before. I was excited to meet who I would be working with. My bosses wouldn't tell me the name of my partner. They'd only tell me that it was a guy. You'd be able to guess how surprised I was when I found out that he was a good friend of my family, and the same person whom is known to do this same job when I was growing up.

"Kait? You're the new recruit they hired?" He said.

"Oh. My. God. Dave? Dave Fergeuson?" I said.

"The one and only. How'd you get this job?"

"I have no clue. I applied, just for haha's and look what happens."

"Well, lets get things explained to you. These ladies over her are Paula, Lindsey, and Marnie. They're our cashiers. We'll help them out whenever we're free. During the day, we go out on patrols and we'll switch driving out every few hours. Occasionally we'll need to restock the store and it's our job to order the products. That's basically all I need to explain for now, and it's about time for our patrol. Time to get you introduced to our park volunteers. I think most of them are here already." Dave explained, walking out the back door of the park store.

The ranger car was a silver Dodge Intrepid with an Ohio State Parks sticker on the side, the same one that I had remembered from my childhood, and always associated with this man. He was about as tall as me, probably roughly five foot seven, had thinning brown-gray hair, and a smile that could turn even the worst of days happy. We'd been neighbors for about three months before I'd taken this job, not expecting him to still work there. It was awkward at first in that car.

"So, are most of the same volunteers still here? Dick and Mary, Sonny and Angel, the Hartley's, everyone?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"Yep, most of the same volunteers are still here. I almost don't even feel a need to introduce you to Dick and Mary. I know your family is really good friends with them." Dave said, "It's almost strange working with you. I've always known you as Warren's granddaughter, now I've got to get used to calling you by name."

"Believe me, this isn't easy on my end, either." I said, staring blankly out the window.

For years, I've had a crush on this man. He was my first crush. My heart was racing in my chest faster than I think I've even felt it beat. I've accepted the fact that we can never be together a long time ago, though. Him being a Human, and me a Moroi, a mortal vampire that doesn't kill for blood and wields elemental magic. Moroi and Humans are forbidden to be together and he was married anyway as well as way past my age. That never stopped me from dreaming though. My mind jumped to the day I moved into my house next door to his.

I pulled up in my truck, a silver 2013 Ram 3500 with a dual rear tire, my dad and grandpa not far behind with most of my stuff in either the back of my grandpa's 2003 Dodge Ram 2500, or in my dad's enclosed car-hauler. We began unloading my stuff as soon as we stopped.

"This is a nice house, Kait." My dad said.

"Thanks! I hope the neighbors are nice. I haven't had very much luck with neighbors for most of my life. Gary next door at your house, the Ritchey's next door at mom's..." I trailed off.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." My grandpa said, carrying an armload of boxes into the house.

I grabbed a box of glassware and plates for the kitchen. We worked quickly as vampires normally do, getting all my stuff situated and set up within five hours, unpacking included.

"You know, Kait. If you wanted to, you could date a human. Us Welling's may be Royals in the Moroi eyes for our specialization level control of all five elements of Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Spirit, but they don't treat us much like Royals. I don't mind if you date human men. Just don't get pregnant." My dad said.

We were sitting on my back porch when my neighbors walked over to my fence.

"Are you the new people moving in?" A familiar male voice asked.

"My daughter over here is." My dad said, getting up and walking over to the fence with my grandpa.

"Dave?" My grandpa said, my heart rate slowly climbing.

"Warren? Is that you?" The voice said.

"Hey, Kait! Get over here! Look who your new neighbor is! Your worries were taken care of. Your neighbors will be nice to you." My dad said.

"Who is it? The voice sounds familiar." I said getting up and walking over.

"It's Dave Fergeuson." My dad said.

"There's no way in hell." I muttered, looking up at Dave.

I quickly say up straight as my flashback ended, trying not to look like a total retard.

"Tired?" Dave asked.

"No. I...I'm sorry, I was just... I was just thinking." I said.

"Okay, well we're here at our first stop." Dave said, stopping the car and stepping out.

"Who's here?" I asked as Dave knocked on the camper door, an older couple opening it and letting us in.

"Hey, guys! This is my new partner, Kait. Kait, this is Sandy and Paul." Dave said.

"It's nice to meet you guys." I said.

The meet and greet visitations with the park volunteers carried out for about ten minutes each. When we got back to the store, it was time for lunch. I quickly shove my leftover paella, a Spanish dish with rice and seafood, into the microwave and went to eat outside. 


	2. Chapter 2

I began to stare off into space while eating lunch.

"Kait, what are you getting yourself into?" I mumbled to myself.

I ate in silence for about five minutes, almost falling asleep, until Dave's voice kicked me out of my daze.

"Are you really going to eat out here alone?" He asked, sitting down.

"Huh? Oh, hi. Sorry, I'm just, just I don't even know. I guess I was. You can join me if you want." I stuttered, Dave just laughed.

We sat without speaking for a few minutes until he broke the silence.

"So, Kait. You seem almost troubled somehow. What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing." He said.

"I guess I'm just nervous." I said.

"Okay, if you ever need to talk, I'm always here to help." Dave said.

We finished eating in about half an hour then went back into the store.

Things continued to be almost the same for a few months. One day, however, a group of Strigoi, evil, undead vampires who kill for blood, attacked. Me, always carrying a silver stake, the only thing that will kill them, managed to kill all five of them. An alchemist then showed up and told me something extraordinary.

"You're a Welling. I can tell by your looks and by your build. I have information for you and your family. You can't tell anyone. There is a way to become immortal and still technically be alive. All you need to do is kill an animal for its blood. You will keep all your elemental magic, everything. The only difference is that your heart only beats when you've drank blood and it's still in your system, you'll be little bit more pale than Moroi, but you still have the warmth of life, you're eyes will be that of the color gold, and your fangs will be retractable. You'll be smart enough to be considered to have all the possible doctorates available, you can reproduce, and you can still eat Human food. The sun or any other weather element will no longer bother you. That's all the information I have. You never heard this from me. I need to go now." The alchemist said.

I didn't know how to reply so I just let her go. I then quickly went into the woods to test out her theory. I found a deer an quickly bit into its neck. I felt its blood, warm and sweet, flow down my throat. I barely made it back to the store and washed my mouth out before I fainted

I awoke at my grandparents' house. I stood up and went into the bathroom where I noticed everything that the alchemist said had been true. My eyes were golden, my skin was slightly paler than your typical Moroi, my fangs were gone, but I could control when they came out, I was a lot faster and stronger, and I knew everything anyone wanted to know. I was beautiful. I had no imperfections anywhere on my body, my muscles were perfectly sculpted, all my senses enhanced, not a single ounce of fat anywhere on my body.

"What happened?" I said, walking out.

"Dave found you passed out on the bathroom floor at the campground and brought you here, worried. He's gone already." My grandma said.

"Oh, okay."

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Awesome. I just looked on my iPhone what this might be called. The only result I find made sense. I think I'm a Strigoi Viu, Viu for short. It means "living Strigoi" and it makes sense." I said, handing her my phone to read the article.

"It does make sense." She said, handing me the phone after she read it.

"Sleeping Beauty awakens!" My grandpa said, walking in from the garage.

"Hey, grandpa." I said.

"So what is this new Vampire called?" He asked.

"I think it's called a Strigoi Viu." I said, letting him read the article I had pulled up in my phone.

We sat and talked for about an hour before I went home. Dave was just finished mowing his lawn when I arrived.

"You're back." He said walking over to my fence.

"Yeah, I have no clue what happened the other day." I said stepping out of my truck.

"I know that your family are all Moroi. You grandpa explained it to me." He said.

"Oh, I figured he would eventually. I don't think I'm Moroi anymore though. I did some research and I think what I'm called is a Strigoi Viu, which means "living Strigoi". He explained Moroi, Strigoi, and Dhampirs to you, right?" I said.

"Not Dhampirs."

"Dhampirs are half human and half Moroi. They originally were made through Moroi inbreeding with humans." I said.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'd best be getting inside. I'll see you tomorrow at work." He said, seeming kinda rushed.

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Nothing unusual occurred for awhile. Dave and I would go to work, nothing too terrible. We'd bust the occasional person for doing something against the law, the usual cop stuff. We'd flirt a little back and forth, just friendly. One day, however, something really strange occurred that would change everything.


	3. Chapter 3

I couldn't believe what had happened. At the end of our nightly patrol right as Dave and I pulled up to the back of the store, the completely unexpected happened. It was as if fire had met ice and collided. My heart raced in my chest. I'd never felt anything even comparable to what happened.

"What was that for?" I asked after Dave kissed me.

It wasn't just any kiss. This was one of those kisses that no one should see. He kissed me dead on the lips. I didn't know how to react so I tensed up for a little bit and kissed him back.

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. That shouldn't have happened. Good night, Kait." He said, rushed, walking out of the car.

I quickly, using my Viu speed, shut off the car and ran into his, determined to know his motive to kiss me.

"I'm not mad, Dave. I just want to know. Why did you kiss me?" I said, calmly even though I was still kinda in shock.

"I don't kn-" he began to say as I cut him short, kissing him.

Something began to take over my body, something primitive. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It seemed like my senses shut down, like I wasn't in control of my body. I didn't quite know what I wanted, just that this moment had to continue. He shifted me over so that I was straddling his lap. I could feel everything. His hands down my back, his soft, brown hair as I wrapped my arms around him. He was hard, I could feel it against my crotch. I went to undo his belt, right before he went to undo mine. Nothing was stopping us now. He lifted me onto him, I gasped as his erection entered me. He readjusted his position in the seat so that he could thrust easier. After a little bit, he quit thrusting in the gentle, rhythmic manner he had been and allowed me to take over. I gently moved my hips against his and we both began to thrust. He gasped as I felt him orgasm inside me, my own following a few seconds later.

"You were a virgin." He said after we finished.

I quickly realized what happened. I never intended to sleep with him and I definitely didn't intend to lose my virginity to him. I silently began crying.

"Kait? Are you crying?"

"I'm sorry. I never intended to sleep with you. I don't know what happened. I lost my senses, I... I... This is inexcusable. You're married. I should have kept my hands to myself. Now you have my virginity, which might as well be everything I own. I just, I'm a terrible person." I sobbed.

"Kait, Kait, Kait. Don't cry, you're not a terrible person. This is as much my fault as it is yours. I shouldn't have kissed you, that's what started all this. We can't tell anyone about what just happened. This will be our secret, okay?" He said.

"I...I...okay." I said, giving in.

"Now give me a hug." He said, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

I rested my head on his shoulder, it was nice to be able to do that. I felt a little better about myself, but I was still unsure of how this would turn out. I just hoped that I wouldn't get pregnant.

"Will this ever happen again?" I asked as I stepped out to my truck.

"Maybe." He answered back.

I went most of my 45 minute drive from Port Clinton to Oregon in silence. About ten minutes before I got home I turned the radio on. I looked in my rear-view mirror to notice that Dave was right behind me. I couldn't help but think about what just happened. I almost started crying when I realized that he'd notice if I did. Right before I pulled into my driveway, Crazy On You by Heart came on the radio. As soon as I got into the garage and closed the door, I completely lost it again. That song didn't fit the situation, but some of the lyrics did. When I finally got the urge to go inside, I shut and locked the door, then slid down so that my knees were touching my chest and I just sat there. I could have been there an hour, maybe more, but it didn't matter. I didn't want to get up, the guilt of what I did finally sinking in. I felt terrible. I didn't even know how I could go to work the next day. I wasn't tired, but I went to bed anyway. Before I fell asleep, I noticed that my bedroom window was right across from his and caught him making love to his wife. I couldn't help but feel almost jealous of her. I didn't want anyone to notice anything, so I closed the blinds, went to bed, and cried myself to sleep.

You'd think it was coincidence that it rained all the next day, but I knew that it was some sort of sign from above. There wouldn't just naturally be Florida rain all day in Ohio. It completely poured.

"Quit the weather, huh, Kait?" Dave said as we walked into the store.

"Yeah, this is just stupid. How are we supposed to get anything done with rain like this? It's supposed to do this all day." I said.

"I have no idea. We could repeat a yesterday." Dave suggested.

"Yeah, that's not happening anytime soon. Nice try." I said, playfully smacking his arm.

"Damn." He said, walking over to his desk.

I quickly went over to my desk and looked up the weather radar. I saw some heavy thunderstorms rolling our way. With the way the weather was currently moving at the time, I estimated it to arrive around the time we were scheduled to leave. God, I loved being Viu.

"Hey, Dave. Come look at this." I said.

"Yeah?" He said walking over.

"See this row of thunderstorms out there? Maybe we should stay a little later today, just in case those turn nasty. I'm estimating that they'll arrive around when we're scheduled to leave." I said.

"I think you may be right. That's not a bad idea." He said.

My estimation was correct. They arrived right was were scheduled to leave. There wasn't a tornado warning, but a few strange clouds came overhead. We left that night with no major damage to the park, only a few tree limbs down.


	4. Chapter 4

One of the busiest times of the year for Dave and I was the week of the Fourth of July. We were constantly being overtaken by customers, coming from near and far to visit our park over the holiday. We both needed a small break, so we decided to do probably the most stupid thing possible. After sunset, we went skinny-dipping in Lake Erie. The water by July was already rather warm and the temperatures didn't bother me any, but he seemed a little cold. I wrapped my arms around him, trying to warm him up at least a little, and once again, my mind took over my body. Before I knew it, I was kissing him. Something must have taken over him too because I heard his heart rate quickly rise as he kissed me back. The water wasn't all that deep, and we both could touch the bottom. I felt his hands running through my hair and down my back as he pulled me closer to him. I felt as if I needed him more than anything. I began to push things farther and farther along until I felt him gently push his Member inside of me. He began to thrust gently and little more rapidly than the first time. After a little while I took over and rode him. After about half an hour, I felt a warm, sticky liquid flow inside me. I knew that we needed to get home so I came off of him and realized that we had forgotten to bring towels.

"You don't by any chance keep towels in the park car, do you?" I asked.

"Nope." Dave replied.

"Well, we're screwed. This is perfect." I said.

"We could asks the volunteers for a few towels." He suggested.

"That would be a good idea, except for the fact that we can't put our clothes back on until we're dry. They'll know something's up if we show up at their doors naked."

"Oh."

"I wonder..." I thought out loud.

"What?"

I pulled a mixture of Air, Water, and Fire magic to me. I used Air to blow us dry, Fire to heat the Air, and Water to pull off more of the lake water. We still smelled like lake, but at least we were dry enough to put our clothes on.

"What did you just do?" Dave demanded.

"Vampire magic." I said.

"But you're not a Moroi."

"But I am a vampire."

"It's too bad you can't take the smell away, too." He said.

"That's where the car comes in."

"How?"

"We drive back to the store. I have towels and soap in my truck."

"Why didn't you bring any of the towels?!" He yelled.

"I forgot." I said, climbing into my clothes, Dave just sighed.

When we got back to the store, I grabbed two towels and two bars of soap and we went to the shower houses to wash up. I quickly used the same mixture of elemental magic to dry our hair, then we went home. The next morning gave me a big surprise.

When I woke up the next morning an went to take a shower, I felt sick to my stomach. At first, I just shoved it off as not having anything to eat. After my shower, I looked in the mirror and noticed a small, but noticeable bump on my lower abdomen.

"There's no way in hell." I whispered.

I went to put my uniform on, which now barely fit. I was shocked. It fit perfectly the night before.

"This just isn't fucking possible!" I yelled.

After I ate a breakfast of some blood contained in a water bottle and a toasted bagel with cream cheese, I felt sick again. I rushed to the bathroom and almost immediately threw up the entire contents of my stomach. I went to work, tried to avoid Dave as much as possible because I didn't want him to see me like that. At lunch, I went to McDonald's and then picked up a test from the Walmart down the road. When I got back, I opened the box, shoved the test, still with the cap on it, into my pocket and went to the bathroom to test my theory out. After I got done, I washed my hands and sat in my truck until I got the test results. When the sign finally came up, I was speechless.

The little pink plus sign appeared.

"Oh shit." I said, starting to cry.

I locked the doors to my truck so no one could get in. I almost started it up to go home, but I knew Dave would come looking for me. I didn't know how to react. This would screw up everything in my life, as well as possibly his. I sat there and just cried. I lost track of how long I was there until I heard a small tap at the window.

"Figures. I had a feeling he'd show up. I should have just gone home." I mumbled as I unlocked the doors and hid the test.

"Kait, you've been in here for almost an hour. What's wrong?" Dave said, obviously concerned.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I said, a little too defensively.

"If you were truly fine you wouldn't be crying and sitting here by yourself." He said.

"Well, you'll find out sooner or later. I might as well just show you." I sighed, pulling out the pregnancy test and handing it to him.

He sat there and stared at it for about a minute too long for my liking.

"Well?" I asked, nervous.

"You're pregnant? With my baby?"

"Yes." I said.

More silence from Dave. He seemed worried. Maybe he was worried about me, maybe he was worried about how to save our asses, I'd never know. It was a little over a minute before he spoke.

"How, how will this work? What will we say to people? I mean, you're going to get huge! People will start to notice." He said.

"I was hoping you'd have an idea." I said, overwhelmed.

"I don't have any clue."

"So, you're okay with this?"

"I guess. What else can I say?" He said.

"Rape. I'll tell people it was rape. They won't question anything if I put a little compulsion in with it." I said, suddenly getting the idea.

"Rape? Are you sure? Rape is a serious thing."

"So is having sex with your co-worker, who happens to also be a family friend, and getting pregnant from it."

"Okay, I can see that. Lets go back inside."

"Fine with me." I said, climbing out of the truck.


	5. Chapter 5

Things were a lot different with this pregnancy than what they tell you in health class. I gained about a month's worth of baby every day. I figured that in a little over a weeks I'd be giving birth. When I told my family the cover story, they seemed to buy it. Dave's wife did also. I added some compulsion into my story as well, just to make it that much more buyable. By the third day, my work pants were almost a lost cause. If it wasn't for my grandpa, who sewed an elastic band into the front, I wouldn't have been working in them at all. The whole thing was constant worrying. Will anyone find out our secret? If someone did, would they tell people? I tried to act natural around Dave when there was people around just to make sure that our cover wasn't blown. I loved being pregnant, though. Feeling your own flesh and blood grow and move inside of you, it was perfect, beautiful. I knew at that moment I was meant to be a mother.

I went into labor on about the ninth day of my pregnancy. The labor pains were unbearable. It felt as if someone had taken my bottom lip and tried to stretch it over my forehead. With each contraction, which were stronger than most thanks to being a Viu, it felt as if someone was tearing my insides apart from the inside out. The whole thing was worth it though. The moment that I looked into my daughter's eyes, all the pain and suffering went away. I couldn't believe that I could create something so beautiful, small, and helpless. I didn't even care that Dave wasn't there. My family was, that's all that mattered to me. On July 15, Rachel Marie Welling was born.

Rachel grew fast. When I say fast, I mean fast. One year of growth was typical of that of about three years. She was walking and talking after about eight months. Every four months seemed to equal about a year's worth of development. Her first word was at three months old. I had to get larger clothes for her almost every week to two weeks. It was absolutely insane; and insanely expensive. I only had to pay for formula for the first eight months, though. My family and I thought that even though she was Moroi, that she was only Moroi because she inherited the mortality from the father and she was a vampire because I was Viu, and that was also why we believed she grew so fast.

Rachel was absolutely beautiful. She had the Welling cerulean-blue eyes and she had (unbeknownst to my family) Dave's brown hair with my curl. Other than that, she was almost an exact copy of me. I loved her more than my own life.

Within that year, I once had to run home for lunch. Dave, being my neighbor and trusting me with a spare key to his house, asked me to grab him his cell phone for his dresser, which he as forgotten that particular morning. Me, not expecting anyone to be home, walked into his house and up to his bedroom, where I found a very, very bad sight.

I walked into Dave's house to get what he needed. I knew something was up, but I didn't know what. I could sense it somehow, like I was intruding on something. I walked up to his bedroom trying to find what he needed me to get, which was his cell phone, and there I found it. I quickly took out my phone and snapped a picture for proof. I used my increased speed to run in and grab his phone without being detected by his wife and the guy she was cheating on Dave with. I then went over to my house to get my lunch and check on Rachel, who was being baby sat by my grandpa.

"Mommy!" Rachel called out, hearing the door open and close.

"Hey, Rachel! How's my girl?" I said, pulling her into a hug.

"Good."

"Are you being good for great-grandpa?"

"Yes, mommy." She said.

"She's being fine, Kait." He said, "You look stressed, what's going on?"

"I just walked in on something." I said.

"Oh boy. What was that?"

"Okay, so Dave asked me to grab his cell off of his dresser because he knew I was coming home for lunch. When I walked in to his house, I felt something strange, like I was intruding on something. As I ventured up to his bedroom, the feeling intensified. Once I got there, I found his wife cheating in him."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Hell, yeah I will. I even snapped a picture really fast."

"Did she catch you?"

"No, I ran and grabbed what I needed before she could figure out I was there."

"Good."

I made myself a sandwich for lunch, then went to tell Dave the bad news. He didn't react well. First he was mad and punched the wall, then he cried when I showed him the picture. I don't think I could ever stand it to see him cry ever again. I began wondering, did she know about us? If she did, was this her payback? Or was this just a coincidence? I knew I'd probably hear lots of yelling coming from that house tonight. Rachel knew something was wrong when I got home that night.

"Mommy, what's the matter?" She said.

"Mommy's just upset right now." I said.

"Why?"

"I've just had a bad day."

"Oh, okay."

I wished I was at that age again. So innocent, not knowing that anything bad ever happened. After Rachel went to bed was when the arguing began. I could hear all very clearly thanks to my enhances hearing. Dave accused his wife of cheating, then she got mad. He told her how he knew, she said I was never there. He said that I had to have been there because he got his cell phone like he asked me to grab, she began pondering how she could have missed me coming in. They argued back and forth about like that for a few hours before it finally ended. It didn't end in nearly the way I had expected.


	6. Chapter 6

The last thing I heard from the argument was Deb, his wife, shouting that she wants a divorce. About ten minutes later, I heard a knock on my door.

"Who the hell could that be? It's eleven o'clock at night." I mumbled, walking toward the door.

"Kait, can I stay here for a while?" Dave said when I opened the door, carrying three suit cases.

"Uh, okay, I.. I guess. What's going on?"

"I'm sure you heard the argument."

"Yeah, I got most of it."

"After she stopped shouting, she told me to get out and never come back."

"So, it's official then?"

"She's filing for divorce tomorrow."

"She didn't find out about, you know, did she?"

"No, she didn't."

Rachel came down after that.

"Mommy, why do I hear voices?" She mumbled sleepily.

"It's okay, Rach. It's just Dave, go back to bed." I told her.

"Okay. Why is he here?"

"He's staying with us for a while, baby. Is that okay?"

"I guess." Rachel said, walking back upstairs.

"She looks almost exactly like you." Dave said.

"That's a good thing. I don't need anyone figuring out anything about us." I said.

"Very true. We could do that again, you know."

"Not until you and Deb are divorced."

"Alright."

"And if it does happen, we are using condoms."

"Fine, I guess."

The next morning, Dave and I carpooled to work. He seemed kinda depressed, so I tried to cheer him up a little.

"Come on, it's not the end of the world." I said.

No reply.

"Funny. All this drama was created simply from sex. It seems so simple. Man and woman getting together and... Never mind. It's more complicated than it seems. Sex creates marriages, sex maintains marriages, destroyed marriages. I sound like my grandmother. I don't need to explain this to you. You should know this already." I said.

No reply.

"Or ignore me." I sighed.

When we got to work, he didn't seem any different. I did all the work, helping customers, patrolling, filing papers, etc. after a few days of this, I finally had enough.

"Dave! Where are you?" I yelled.

"In the living room." I faintly heard.

"This is crazy, Dave. You're doing nothing but moping around. Here and at work. I get it, you're not too happy that your wife left you, but seriously! Doing nothing will not help, and I'm getting tired of it. You're talking in your sleep, you're just sitting around and doing nothing at all productive at work. If you're going to be living here, I at least expect some help with stuff. That's all." I said, walking out of the room.

"I'm sorry. I know that I'm not being the best person. I understand that, but to me, this is the end of the world." He said.

"So was getting pregnant, but I sucked it up and dealt with it." I said, walking away again.

"If you want me to something, just ask." I heard him call back.

I almost felt bad for Rachel. Her dad was right under her nose and she didn't know who he was. All she knew him as was her neighbor. She had no idea.

Dave had a court date with Deb a few days ago. He came back all depressed.

"How's it go?" I asked.

"Alright."

"Just alright?"

"How can it be a good court date? Generally if you're in court it includes something you're not too thrilled about." He said.

"Okay, I can see that. Can you try to be a little more up beat, though? It's not the end of the world."

"I'll try. I'm not guaranteeing anything."

"Maybe there's a reward in it for you. You never know." I said, winking.

"Such as?"

"If I told you that'd be giving it away."

"Rats. Have you thought about telling Rachel that I'm her dad?"

"Actually, I was planning on doing that tonight." I said.

When Rachel got home from my grandparents' house, I sat her down and told her.

"Hey, Rach. How was it?" I said as she walked in.

"Fun. We went fishing." She said.

"Dave and I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"Lets go into the living room."

"Rachel, your mommy and I have a secret to tell you. You can't tell anyone, not even great grandma and grandpa." Dave said, sitting down next to her.

"Okay." She said, smiling.

"Rachel, you know how I told you that I didn't know your dad, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I lied."

"Mommy!" She yelled.

"Do you want to know who he is?"

"Yes."

"He's sitting next to you." I said.

"Dave is my daddy?" She said, looking at him.

"Yes. Is that okay?"

"I guess. I can't change who my daddy is."

"That's true, you can't." I said with a small chuckle, "Do you want to give him a hug?"

"Alright."

From then on, the two were almost inseparable. Dave's mood even seemed to lift a lot. He wasn't nearly as sad and depressed. Rachel didn't tell anyone about it, which made me happy. It was as if we were a whole family.


	7. Chapter 7

One day, I got a little tired of always dealing with Rachel and Dave, so I went over to my grandparents' house for some relief.

"Hey, Kait. What's new?" My grandpa said when I walked into their garage.

"Not too much. You remember how I caught Deb cheating, right?" I said.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, now Dave and Deb are getting divorced and Dave is living with me."

"Oh?"

"Yep. Rachel has taken a strong liking to him. Don't get me wrong, I like that they've bonded, but its gotten a little out of hand."

"I can understand that. Where has he been sleeping?"

"It varies. Somedays he sleeps on the couch, others in my bed, etc. I really need to get a guest room set up."

"I would recommend that."

"I just can't afford it right now."

"I can understand that. How about a trip to Jolly Roger's with your grandma and I?"

"That sounds amazing right about now." I said.

"I'll get the truck fired up." He said as I went to walk into the house.

"Kait!" My grandma said getting up to give me a hug.

"Hi, grandma." I said.

"How's Rachel?"

"She's fine. She's at home with Dave. He's living with me now since he's getting divorced."

"Oh, no! What happened?"

"I caught his wife cheating on him. They argued, she asked for a divorce and wanted him out of the house. He saw nowhere else to stay but with me. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having him there. It's just that Rachel took a strong liking to him and now I need a small break from the two."

"Things will come around eventually. You'll see." She replied

"Yeah, I hope so."

"Why did grandpa turn the truck on?"

"We're going to Jolly Roger's." I said.

"Oh boy! That should be fun!"

"Yes it should be."

"Why don't you ask Rachel and Dave if they want to go?"

"I suppose I could. We could pick them up on the way." I said, calling Dave's cell.

It rang three times before he answered.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hey, it's me." I stated.

"What's up?"

"Would and you and Rachel like to go to Jolly Rogers?" I asked.

"Sure! When?" Dave answered.

"We're leaving now. We'll pick you up."

"Ok, I'll see you in a few."

"Bye." I said, hanging up the phone.

"Well, are we ready?" My grandpa said, walking into the house.

"Yep. Head toward Oregon first."

"Why?"

"Rachel and Dave want to come, if that's ok."

"No, that's fine. We'll go get them." He said, as we walked out the door.

When we got to my house, Dave and Rachel were sitting in the driveway playing with sidewalk chalk. Rachel was a very talented kid. She was making all these intricate, eye catching designs in the chalk while Dave just drew patterns. She ran up to me and hugged my legs when I walked up.

"Mommy!" She yelled.

"Hey, Rach! Are you having fun?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to go up for some fish?"

"Where?"

"Jolly Roger"

"Ok! Can Dave come?"

"If he wants." I said, looking at Dave.

"Sure, I'll go." Dave said.

"Well, come on then. We're leaving now." I said, climbing into the truck.

It was a little cramped in that truck on the way to Port Clinton, but it was somewhat comfortable. Me, being the tallest, got the front seat with my grandpa. We got a pound of fried perch, an order of fries, hush puppies, onion rings, and fried mushrooms, ending up with no leftovers. We did our usual routine, driving down Sand Road and getting ice cream at McDonalds, then going through East Harbor State Park to see how many people were there. I almost wanted to tell my grandparents that Dave was Rachel's dad, but I knew that would create drama and it was drama that I didn't need. Rachel knew to call him Dave when anyone who I didn't want to know was around. We walked the beach a little bit, Rachel walked in the water with my grandma, looking for shells. My grandpa, Dave, and I talked with the occasional interjection from my grandma. It was going really well until Rachel slipped up and called Dave 'Daddy'.

"Rachel, does Dave feel like a daddy to you?" My grandma asked her.

"Shit" I mumbled with a terrified look, Dave caught my face and came over to give a small hug.

"Everything will be alright." He whispered into my ear.

"She doesn't know any better." I whispered, "She forgot. I just hope I can create a play on words to buy us some time."

I completely didn't notice Rachel's answer to my grandma's question until my grandma began questioning me.

"Kait, is this true?" My grandma said.

"Damn." I said.

"I'm not mad." She hissed.

"Yes you are! I'm not that stupid!"

"I just want to know if it's true."

"This is a very important answer, Kait." My grandpa interjected.

"I know! I know! Yes, it is true! Dave is Rachel's true father, she's not a rape baby. I knew what the consequences to my actions were, and now I'm paying them! It was as much my fault as it was Dave's." I yelled and burst into tears.

"That's why Rachel has taken such a liking to him." My grandma realized.

"You two aren't, together, are you?" My grandpa asked us.

"We've thought about it, but no." I said.

"Well, I have to ask. Who's brilliant plan was this?" My grandpa said.

"It was... I, I mean, I... it was hers, it was his, we don't know." Dave and I stuttered out in unison.

"Well, who first brought up the idea?" My grandma asked.

Dave and I looked at each other for a second.

"Well, he first began all of this by kissing me one night." I said. "

I immediately took full responsibility for my actions and tried to leave. Kait, being faster than me, ran into my car before I could even turn it on and asked for my motives." Dave explained.

"He tried to explain, but I cut him short by kissing him again." I said.

"And the one thing led to another, and you can predict the rest." We said in unison again.

"I'm not sure what to think of that." My grandma said.

"Never thought you'd be asking questions about your granddaughter's sex life did you?" I said, forcing a half smile.

"No. It... it never crossed my mind." She said.

"And obviously protection didn't cross their minds." My grandpa interjected

"What do you think of all this?" Dave asked.

"Well, I'm not happy about it, but it explains a lot about Rachel." She said.

"I figured this much." I said.

"You two don't look bad together." My grandpa added.

"What did either of you gain from this?" My grandma asked.

"Rachel." Dave and I said at the same time.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing, honey." I said, grabbing her hand.

"She has Dave's eyes, hair color, and general shape of face, but other than that she looks like you, Kait." My grandma noticed.

"That's really how we kept it a secret for so long." Dave said, "because of how much she resembles Kait."

"Does Deb know?" My grandpa asked.

"Not that I know of." Dave said.

"Have you two ever seriously considered dating?" My grandma asked.

"Well, we are now. The truth behind Rachel is uncovered." I said.

"I tried to tell you that it would be a good idea." Dave said.

"I know, I didn't listen at the time."

"Kait, would you go on a date with me Wednesday after work?" Dave asked me.

"I'd love to." I said, smiling at him.


	8. Chapter 8

Our date was nothing special. We just went to Bob Evan's for supper and Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. It was enough to make us "official" so to speak. Dave was already completely divorced at this point, so it was legal in that aspect.

According to the Moroi Royal Court, the separate Moroi government, it wouldn't have been because I'm vampire and he was human. I didn't tell them right away because first of all, they didn't need to know who I dated. Second, I already knew that the existence of vampires was beginning to get exposed to the human race. More and more people were figuring out that vampires actually did exist. Third off, I knew it would create fights. Now, my family had created plenty of fights among that Moroi. When we first wanted our Royalty, we created more fights among the royals about whether or not we should have been considered royal. The main factor determining that was our specialization level control of all five elements. That was what eventually convinced them to make us Royalty. No other bloodline had that ability. As a Viu, I was essentially a god to them. They ensured my protection by giving me body guards, whom they call Guardians. The Guardians were Dhampirs, half-human, half-Moroi. They had the looks of humans, but had the Moroi hardiness. They essentially got all the best traits of both races. I tried to tell the people back at Court that I didn't need Guardians, but they didn't listen and wasted their best Guardians, Rose Hathaway, her mother, Janine, and her boyfriend, Dimitri Belikov, on me. I had gotten those three convinced well enough to have two guarding Rachel, Janine and Dimitri, and one guarding me, Rose. I'd killed more than my fair share of Strigoi, evil, undead vampires, as a Moroi than most Guardians would even see in a lifetime. Somehow, they still thought I needed Guardians.

I had gotten my Guardians to not interfere too much with my personal life, but I knew they had to do their job. They went with Dave and I on all of our dates, and even our last date before my life was forever changed.

Our last date was certainly the most memorable. Dave took me out to my favorite restaurant, Jolly Roger's. We split a pound of perch, some onion rings, and hush puppies. When we got back to the campground, seeing as we had to work that night, the Saturday before Memorial Day, we quickly changed into our ranger uniforms. There was a family dance that night and we both seemed to have a lot of fun. We danced a little, but mostly did our jobs. At one point, the DJ, a guy named Luke, called everyone off of the "dance floor" but Dave and I and turned on Amazed by Lonestar. Now, you could understand my amazement at what happened next. I had a feeling something was up when Dave asked me to dance and everyone that I knew, particularly the park volunteers and my grandparents, got giant grins on their faces. Near the end of the song, Dave got down on one knee.

"Kait, I love more than my own life. I know that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You truly amaze me with every little thing that you do. I have a very important question to ask you." He said pulling out a small box.

"Yes?" I said, choking up a little.

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

I began crying.

"Y-y-yes. Yes." I stuttered in between sobs.

The ring was beautiful. It was a 2-karat, circular-cut diamond ring made from white gold. He slipped it onto my finger and pulled me into a hug. People clapped and cheered, the DJ played another slow song, Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden. I loved Dave more than my own life. My family knew the truth about Rachel and they could see that she wasn't created just out of pure lust, but out of love.

Somehow, I knew that I'd have to bite Dave and change him into a Viu eventually. My whole family had taken to being Viu rather nicely, we didn't try to kill too many animals for blood, but we would hunt occasionally, once a month at max. We kept water bottled filled with donated blood, purchased at the Royal Court, around all the time. We wouldn't survive without it. It would take lots of courage on my part to bite Dave, and I knew it.

I wanted to get the wedding done and over with so I began planning as soon as I could. Within a month, I had the date, the place, the priest, almost everything. All I had to get was my dress. That was the part that I knew would be the hardest. I narrowed it down to two. One was a strapless, corset dress with a gentle, sloping bottom with jewels all over it. The other was a strapless dress with a wide bottom and no decoration. My mom, grandma, and I all decided on the first one. It took us until one week before the wedding to decide on the dress. When the big day finally came, you can only imagine how nervous I was.

I was so nervous that I couldn't even think straight. I did my nails the night before, a French manicure. My mom did my hair and I did my own makeup. The whole place had been set up for the wedding the night before, so that was one less thing to worry about. Everything was perfect from the decorations to the weather. I had a simple, beach wedding at East Harbor State Park.

Finally, it was time. The music began playing. I walked down the aisle to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Everyone was looking at me, but the only person I could look at was Dave. We exchanged vows, put on the rings, and everything was done within half an hour. One thing I didn't expect, however, was representatives from the Royal Court to arrive.

"You're not supposed to marry a human." He said.

"You're not supposed to decide who I marry." I replied.

"Look, look, look. We know the taboo behind this. She'll change me, she said she would. Why is this so terrible?" Dave said.

"Because you're currently human. She's currently Viu."

"And because I'm Viu, I've got more say than you. You don't tell me what to do, Viu or not. I'm a Welling. I tell myself what to do. I don't take orders from Court. Who the hell are you, anyway?" I said.

"I'm Kale Voda."

"And the Voda's are one of the least influential Royal families. They expected me to listen to you? Ha! Don't make me laugh! You can go on and scurry back to Court and tell them to get their asses out of my business." I said.

"Uh..." Kale said.

"Go on. Now." I ordered, he ran away. "We really need to get Dave changed."

"We'll do that after the Honeymoon." He said.

"That will work out fine." I said, taking his hand.


End file.
